Big Girl Panties

meet the parents

Daniel wasn’t sure how to digest the scene in front of him. He took his keys out of the lock and looked at the number drilled into the door to make sure he did in fact enter his condo. Neither Trixie nor Andrew Shaw turned their attention away from each other, the television or the quart of vanilla frozen yogurt they were sharing. Trixie had her legs resting comfortably on the lap of Shaw as he rubbed her sore calves. It had been a long day for them all at the arena with the end of the regular season just around the corner and the playoffs were coming at them far more quickly than of them thought they were prepared for. This was one of those weeks where they had a rare four days off until the next game against the Preds on Friday.

“Who do you think you are?” Shaw asked, licking the frozen yogurt off his spoon. “I think I’m a Samantha.”

Trixie cocked her head to the side as she thought hard about her answer. It was a question she herself had always wondered but, as it turned out (and life evolved) the Samantha tag she had been given years ago certainly didn’t fit her current life placement.

Dan simply dropped his gym bag on the floor, grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge and continued to go unnoticed by his girlfriend and teammate. When he had told his young protégé to keep Trixie company for the rest of the afternoon and early evening, he didn’t expect to come home and find him far too intrigued by Trixie’s Sex and the City collection, eating froyo on his sofa while rubbing her tired calves.

“I was never a Carrie, was a Samantha at one point in my life, but, as it turns out, I’ve always been a Miranda.” Trixie placed a hand on her four and a half month pregnant belly and rubbed. She, as well as the rest of her friends and coworkers, couldn’t believe how rapidly her belly was developing.

Dan wished he knew what they hell they were talking about. It all seemed like nonsense…girl talk. Being the good friend that he is, Dan decided it was time to save Andrew from the girly bullshit Trixie had learned to bilk pretty much every male into. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes and stick out that pregnant belly of hers.

Walking over to the sofa, Dan lent down and pressed a kiss to Trixie’s forehead. “What the hell are you making Shawzy watch?”

Andrew answered the question. “We’re on season 3 of Sex and the City. Charlotte just found out that Trey can’t get it up and Carrie told Aiden she was having an affair with Big.”

Dan had lost his ability to formulate an intelligent thought. “You ready to get out of here? The guys are waiting down at the bar for us.”

Since she was unable to indulge in her once regular post practice Whiskey Sour, Trixie had found it less depressing to just stay out of the bars and hear about all their shenanigans the following morning. Besides, she had her own plans, to meet her mother for a light early dinner before heading out to find a dress which fit her growing body.

Tomorrow night, Trixie was doing one thing she wished could avoid forever, but it was something she knew she would never be able to shadow away from. Dan’s parents were coming into town to attend the Preds game and Dan had taken it upon himself to make arrangements for the four of them to have dinner at his place. Trixie hadn’t been as nervous as she way since her very first official date at the age of fifteen.

Andrew looked to Trixie, then the television screen then back to Dan. His words were genuine. “But, I want to see what happens with Carrie and Aiden. “

Hoisting her legs off his lap, Trixie stood up and patted Shaw’s head. “When we head up to Canada next week, I promise I’ll pack the DVD’s.”



Flipping through the hangers on the dress rack at Macy’s, Trixie became increasingly frustrated with the lack of adorable dresses in her new size. She looked over to the rack with a sad eye that held all the dresses she had been able to slip into four and a half months ago. This wasn’t her ideal shopping trip and she was beginning to wonder why she had brought her mother along. All the woman did was nitpick every dress Trixie had grabbed off the rack and complained out shit Trixie couldn’t give two fucks about.

“Why haven’t I met, this, Dan yet? You seem more concerned about having dinner with his parents than you about me.”

Here is comes, Trixie thought. The unavoidable ‘woe is me’ and ‘my children don’t care about me’ act her mother loved to play. As soon as her bother had left for college, Jack filed for divorce from Debra, whom was a native to the Windy City and he had married her after he started playing for the organization. When Jack had told Trixie the marriage between he and her mother was over, Trixie had only one thing to say. She asked him why it had taken him as long as it did for him to file.

“Because his parents live in Canada, mom. It’s not often he gets to see them.”

“Has your father met him?” She asked.

It was always a competition for Debra.

“Yes, a few times,” Trixie almost let it slip that Jack and his new girlfriend had gone out to dinner with she and Dan on multiple occasions. “At the arena.”

The pair fell silent for several minutes, each pretending to be looking for a dress when they were actually deep in thought. Trixie did begin to feel bad for the way she had been treating her mother over the last several years. It wasn’t until she placed a hand on her stomach did she realize she would be hurt if her own son treated her with the same distance and just like Trixie, Debra was a master at covering her own emotions behind a perfectly calculated fake smile. The one Trixie currently spotted on her mother’s burgundy lips.

“I want you to help me with the nursery.” Trixie blurted out. “You know, pick out paint, furniture and all that shit.”

“Watch your mouth.” Debra demanded. She picked a black, strapless, a line waist dress and handed it to Trixie. Debra still had a smile plastered on her face (like she always did) but the difference this time was that Trixie realized it was real. She needed to hear it from Trixie that she wanted—needed—her help. “I’d love to help.”

Taking the dress into the changing room, Trixie stripped from her clothes and shimmied into the dress. It was very flattering to her usual heavy hourglass figure and suited the occasion perfectly. She didn’t want to admit it had been her mother who picked the perfect dress. Walking out to where Debra was waiting, Trixie stepped up on the platform in order to get a much better look with the mirrors surrounding her.

“This is the dress.” Debra pulled the top of the dress further up to cover more of Trixie’s D-cup chest before straightening out the hem and pulling loose threads off. “You should wear that pink cardigan you love.”

Trixie laughed lightly. Her taste in clothes far differed from her mothers and it was clear on any given day. Debra reached up and tucked a lock that fell in Trixie’s face behind her ear. “You’re a catch. A handful and a pain in the ass as well, but, Dan’s parents, they’d be crazy not to like you and see the exact things he sees in you.”

Hearing those words from her mother was something Trixie needed at that exact moment. Not only did it being a smile to her glowing face, but it also gave her the confidence she needed to conquer the task of meeting the parents.



Standing in her closet in front of the full length mirror, Trixie smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress and straightened the collar of her favorite cardigan. The soft pink of the cotton sweater gave the black dress the little extra something it needed and her mother had been right.

Her favorite, single pendent diamond necklace rested on her chest and Trixie began to wonder if her choice of shoe had been appropriate. She loved her four inch black suede pumps but with the extra weight she had been carrying around lately she knew sore calves and feet were unavoidable. Plus she had it in the back of her mind as to whether she looked conservative enough. Trixie remembered reading an article on CSN Online in which Dan expressed how strict his parents were while he was growing up.

“You look good, Trix.” She reminded herself as she fixed the slightly smudging eyeliner and fluffed her hair. “Just don’t say anything stupid and keep all smart mouth, sarcastic comments to yourself.”

Checking the watch on her left wrist, Trixie realized if she were going to leave it was now or never. As much as she wanted to call Dan up and cancel with a fake disaster going on at the United Center, Trixie knew it wouldn’t be long until he found out the truth. Plus, Dan had been beyond excited about Trixie finally meeting his parents that she couldn’t do that to him.

Arriving at Dan’s condo, Trixie stood outside the door for several minutes as she decided what exactly to do. She could hear the chit chat and laughter going on inside and the butterflies in her belly were working overtime. She could feel the baby begin to move around inside her belly, a response from the stress she was currently under.

Even though she had her own key to his place, Trixie decided for some reason using and knocked instead. When Dan opened the door, a wave of relief temporarily washed over her as he pulled her for a tight hug. He could tell she was nervous and whispered a single word into her ear.

“Relax.”

Pulling away, Trixie let out a breath and held up an expensive bottle she had gotten days ago for this dinner. It had been extremely hard for Trixie not to uncork the bottle herself and take a swig to settle the nerves. “I bought a bottle of wine. Drink, for me.”

Taking the bottle from her hand, Dan pressed a kiss to her temple and wrapped an arm along the small of her back. Dan reminded Trixie about how beautiful she looked as he led her to the kitchen where his parents were patiently waiting.

Trixie tried her best to conceal the nervousness she was sure was written all over her face with the sweet smile she used to win over everyone met. It was smile she had used to win over Dan the first night they met.

The second Trixie and Dan entered the kitchen, his parents immediately jumped to their feet, leaving the chairs at the kitchen table they occupied empty. They seemed harmless, but from her experience with parents, she knew looks could be deceiving.

“Mom, dad,” Dan started, placing the bottle Trixie had brought on the counter. “This is the wonderful woman I have been telling you about, Trixie.”

Trixie reached her hand out to shake his mother’s hand, but she rejected it, pulling Trixie into a warm, welcoming hug. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Carcillo.”

“Oh, please, call me Julia. We’re family now.” Dan’s mom insisted.

She was Italian through and through, there was no doubting that. Julia was the same height as Trixie when she wasn’t wearing heels, with short, styled brown hair and eyes which perfectly matched the shade of Daniel’s. There was a hint of a Canadian accent in her voice. Julia placed a hand on Trixie’s budding belly when she pulled out of the hug and her face grew with the same excitement that her own mother had when she first saw Trixie growing.

“And this must be my grandson. Dan was so excited about the idea of having a baby boy; he couldn’t wait to tell us. I hope you don’t mind but the entire town of King City now knows about the baby.”

Trixie pushed her hair behind her shoulders as his father found the opportunity to introduce himself. “Don’t mind her; sometimes she doesn’t know when exactly to shut her mouth. I’m Geno.”

Not only was the physical resemblance between Daniel and Geno uncanny, but she now knew exactly where his personality came from as well. Julia simply rolled her eyes at her husband before reaching for her glass of wine. “C’mon Trixie, you and me have lots to check up on. The boys, I assume, can handle finishing up dinner.”

The Carcillo matriarch grabbed Trixie’s hand and pulled her towards the backdoor so they could sit out on the balcony. Looking over her shoulder, Trixie caught a glimpse of Dan’s ‘good luck’ smirk.



Sitting around the table, the conversation came easy and with many, many laughs. Trixie would be lying if she said she wasn’t enjoying herself and for the first time Trixie had found it very easy to mix with his parents. She had realized all the nerves she had been feeling were for nothing. It lit Dan’s heart to see he had finally found a woman whom his mother had bonded with so easy and wasn’t only because of the fact she was carrying his child. Out of the girls Dan had brought around to meet his mother, she had let him rather quick they were not for him and to let them go. No such words had come from Julia’s mouth and Dan was surprised Trixie had even managed to get his father to lighten up and laugh, something he really didn’t do unless around those in his comfort zone. He usually didn’t take the time to get to know the other girls they never stuck around long enough.

Dan had been right when he told Trixie his mother’s sauce and meatballs were far better than what he made. She couldn’t believe how much she had eaten and made a mental note that she would be having dinner at Dan’s far more often as she usually did if there would be ZipLock containers of it in the freezer.
“So, Trixie,” Geno started. “Dan told me your father is Jack O’Callahan.”

Trixie topped off Dan’s wine as he placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “Dan would be correct.”

Trixie’s last name carried a lot of weight around the city. It had been hard for her growing up finding and making friends and keeping boyfriends as most of them, she came to find, used her more for her connection to free tickets to games and personal meetings with the players. At least with Dan, Trixie realized, she could rest easy knowing he wasn’t with her just for her ticket and player connection.

“What are the chances of another Carcillo pulling on an NHL jersey?” Geno laughed.

Trixie giggled. She too had given that the same thought. “I think the chances are pretty high. Maybe we’ll even see a Carcillo stitched onto the back of a Team USA jersey.”

After dinner, Trixie helped Julia with the dishes and by the time 9:30 rolled around, her feet and calves were burning just as she had suspected would happen. Being the night before a game, Trixie was dying to crawl into bed and sleep well before the demanding schedule of the game started. She was expected at the rink no later than 7 in the morning for a staff meeting before meeting with her bosses to discuss her future with the team.

Saying her goodbyes, Trixie hugged and thanked his parents for dinner one last time before Dan walked her down the hall to the elevator.

“I can finally breathe now that that’s over.” Trixie wrapped her arms around Dan’s neck as he rubbed her back lovingly. Cupping her face with his hands, Dan treated her lips to a few special goodbye kisses.

“Don’t worry, they like you. Otherwise I would have heard about it by now. You impressed my mom and that isn’t something that’s easily done. Go home, get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

Trixie bit her lower lip before kissing Dan one last time. “I love you, too.”